BEND, OR -- A new 36-acre park, is open in northeast Bend across from Lava Ridge Elementary and Skyview Middle Schools. Rockridge Park boasts a nature play area, a skatepark, nine-hole disc golf course, beginner and intermediate bike skills course, and both paved and unpaved paths.

Jill Bellows, who recently moved to the area, loves the chance to walk to Rockridge. "It's a half mile walk at the most, so it's really the only one I've found that we can walk to." She tells KBND News her kids especially love the nature play section of the park, "We found a couple that have natural play areas as well, but this one seems to be a little bit on a larger scale. They love it."

For Joy the Skater-Girl, the main draw is the lunar-scape skate park. A Skateboarder for over twenty years, Joy the Skater girl says the new course has some excellent features. "It's fantastic. All the rollers and the rolling in and rolling out. I mean, it's friendly for when there's not very many people here, and when there's more people, it's a little hectic, but they did a wonderful job."

Blake Bauer, who skateboards all summer and snowboards in the winter, says the skatepark is helping him keep up his skills. "It kinda just goes hand-in-hand with, you know, like hand and eye coordination, but also your foot placement, and kinda your balance, too, so it helps me out a lot, so you know, I mean, I love it, so yeah."